Kuwaiti company settles claims of troop food contract fraud

A Kuwaiti logistics company has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve allegations that it inflated prices and defrauded the U.S. government for contracts to feed American troops based in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.

A Kuwaiti logistics company has agreed to pay million to resolve allegations that it inflated prices and defrauded the U.S. government for contracts to feed American troops based in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.(Representational Image: Reuters)

A Kuwaiti logistics company has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve allegations that it inflated prices and defrauded the U.S. government for contracts to feed American troops based in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. The Justice Department announced the settlement involving Agility Public Warehousing on Friday. The company also agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanour theft of government funds. Federal prosecutors say in an indictment that Agility manipulated a complex funding formula to defraud the government of at least $68 million.

The indictment says the company provided false invoices and statements to a logistics center, bought high-priced food items and then knowingly inflated prices. Agility had been suspended from federal government contracting since its indictment in 2009. The Defense Logistics Agency will lift that suspension as part of the agreement.